WSJ gets some more details on the ambitious online TV project by BBC, where it has started a trial of all its shows being available online, in a seven-day archives. The iMP (interactive media player) project is being rolled out to about 5,000 selected viewers…if the three-month test is successful, the BBC plans to make the iMP freely available in the U.K. next year, becoming the first TV network to show its entire schedule over the Internet. (We’ve covered this in all its gory details over the last two years here)
BBC is using Microsoft DRM, along with geolocation company Quova’s database technology, to restrict the P2P service to UK users only. The P2P software is being supplied by Kontiki, a Sunnyvale, Calif., company.
It will offer 190 hours of TV and 310 hours of radio over the Internet each week. BBC programmers have taken cues from iTunes software…Shows can be searched by name or broadcast time and selected by a mouse click for download, which takes about as long as the program itself. Programs can be chosen seven days in advance, but can’t be downloaded until the program has been shown on TV. The iMP makes suggestions for viewers, has lists of the most popular shows and allows searches by genre.
BBC is considering offering the service abroad for a price, but nothing has been disclosed on those plans yet.
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